Earlier on this month an online booking company published a list that will surely resonate with the vast majority of visitors to this humble blog and our valued customers.

It was revealed what our pet-hates are when dining out. Now whilst we might be in catering industry at a professional level, we all probably are keen restaurant goers ourselves, so the chance is that we have witness these behaviours first-hand.

Unsurprisingly the public are most offended when they see people clicking their fingers to (try) and attract the attention of the waiting staff.

It’s commonly seen as bad practice and yet people continue to do it.

Coming in second was seeing people chew their food with their mouths wide open with overt use of technology following in closely behind.

“Traditional table manners can still be relevant even in the age of mobile phones and social media so a little thought…can go a long way to ensuring everybody enjoys a nice meal,” commented William Hanson, a leading British etiquette expert.

Other bugbears and annoyances that made the ‘top five’ were public displays of affection that were far too intimate for restaurants whilst using a aggressively toothpick in front of other people was also voted as an oft-seen faux-pas.

“It’s clear from the research that people experience a number of frustrating behaviours when eating out with friends and family,” Hanson said.

The actions of neighbouring tables were also a popular irritation.

51% of people said that having crying babies or misbehaving children in the vicinity would tempt them to look elsewhere.

Just under half also dreamt of muting their fellow diners.

However it isn’t just the dining habits of other patrons that were examined by the research team; the actions of restaurants that caused resentment were also looked into.

Rude service from waiting staff was, unsurprisingly, the top of customer complaints levied against eateries, though interestingly it caused more consternation amongst women (70%) than men (59%).